Novidam
At a Glance
Worth a letter from either side of the Atlantic; read its about page first, because the firm's own search is the clearest statement of what it expects yours to look like.
- Pricing
- Custom Pricing, Investment terms, not fees. Nothing about ownership, carry, step-up or the searcher's split is published on its own site.
- Best For
- A traditional searcher in the United States or Europe who wants a backer that ran the model itself and hosts searchers in its own offices through the search
- Track Record
- Its own search fund, raised in New York in 2014 from twenty investors, bought a security and fire alarm company in 2016, grew it fifteen-fold with ten regional add-ons and exited in 2022. Through 2024 it counts a hundred search funds backed, twenty companies invested in and four companies acquired or co-founded outright, with a third fund active in 2025.
- Lane
- Traditional
- Funds
- The search phase and the deal
- Based
- New York.
- Invests
- The United States, Brazil, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Italy by its own portfolio and operator pages, from offices in New York, Amsterdam and London.
- Buys
- Companies with recurring revenues and low customer attrition, long-term secular growth tailwinds, high cash-flow margins and potential for consolidation, in its own words. No size band and no earnings floor anywhere.
- Before A First Call
- No condition. A contact form asking a name, an address and a message, beside pages saying it aims to connect with proven leaders at top-tier MBA programs and hosts searchers in its offices through the search.
- First-Time Operators
- An expectation that its entrepreneurs bring strong interpersonal skills and concrete leadership experiences, stated as a character description rather than a requirement, beside a line that it recruits at top-tier MBA programs. Nothing says a first-time chief executive is out.
- How Long The Search Runs
- No length on the search and nothing about what happens if it ends without a deal, on the pages this review read. Ask what the clock is before you sign anything.
- Published Terms
- No check size, stake or fee on the pages this review read. Most firms on this shelf publish none, so ask early rather than late.
- What A Searcher Gets
- Not published on the pages this review read. It is the figure a searcher most wants and most of this shelf does not print it, so ask before the first call rather than after.
- Roadmap Stages
- 1. Learn & Choose Your Path3. Set Up & Fund the Search
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Its own history is a completed search fund, from the 2014 raise through the 2016 purchase to the 2022 exit, told in its own words on its about page
- States what it looks for in a company, recurring revenue, low attrition, secular tailwinds, high cash-flow margins and room to consolidate, which most of this shelf does not
- Hosts searchers and search teams in its offices through the search phase, and names its operators by company and country
Cons
- States no size band or earnings floor, so the criteria it does publish cannot be measured against a deal
- Publishes no terms of any kind, the category norm
- Expects concrete leadership experience of its entrepreneurs without saying what counts, and aims its recruiting at top-tier MBA programs
What Searchers Say
Read on its own home, about, search-fund, investments, entrepreneurs, long-term-hold and contact pages. The history, the counts and the criteria are the firm's own words. One of its investment pages dropped a sentence a deal record here once quoted, which that record now says.
How to Approach
Firms do not publish a term sheet you can prepare against, so this is how traditional (investor-backed) search capital comes in, what it weighs, and how to arrive ready.
The Typical Arc
- A first conversation on your background and why search, before any deal.
- A deep dive on your plan: industries, criteria, and how you will source.
- Backing for the search itself, then a fresh underwrite when you bring a live deal.
- A board seat and governance once you close.
What It Weighs
- Whether you will finish a two-year search, not only start one.
- The quality of your thesis and target criteria.
- How you will behave on a cap table over a long hold.
How to Prepare
- Bring a sourcing thesis, not a blank slate. Buyer Profile Builder
- Know which firms lead versus follow, and on what terms. Investors
- Make your operator case on one page. Buyer Profile Builder